A meditation on conformity, jealousy, sisterhood, and mob rule. At least a dog is required to be nothing more than a dog. Purvis makes a strong case for that being the happy ending.

This book was right up my alley. The mysterious feel of the book, paired with a historical landscape, made it the perfect weekend read. Though not every moment of this book made sense, it felt like an intentional decision by the author to show how both the townspeople and girls felt with all of the accusations going around town. It is rare to see a book with such a unique premise that is still well executed, which this was.

This book was beyond simply haunting. A handful of incredibly close sisters, on a unique spiral into what at face value appears to merely be wild dogs, makes for a seriously moving story. Each shifting character’s point of view every chapter only added depth and profundity to each detail. Quite the exciting, unexpectedly-ending reminder about the abnormal that made me wonder if it truly is safer to be a dog than an unusual young girl. A special thank you to Henry Holt and Company through NetGalley for my second advanced reader copy.

As a kid I used to pretend to be a dog named Woof Woof, so I automatically was drawn to the premise of this book. It was unique and fun. Loved the villages vibes and all its fun characters!!! I looooved the sisters so much and their family dynamics. Lots of themes to unpack here, and I resonate with all of them - womanhood, societal norms, fear, etc. Great writing style too. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Henry Holt and NetGalley for the ARC.

Xenobe Purvis's The Hounding immerses readers in the eerie, superstitious village of Little Nettlebed, where strange happenings and whispers of witchcraft create an unsettling backdrop. Through multiple perspectives, the novel explores the villagers' suspicion and fear of the Mansfield sisters, who are viewed as odd and high-spirited, but perhaps more than that. Purvis expertly builds a haunting atmosphere, blending folklore with sharp social commentary on how the fear of difference and female independence can turn deadly. The villagers’ distorted perceptions—seeing the sisters transform and hearing barking—mirror society’s tendency to demonize those who stand out or defy conventions. While the plot is richly atmospheric and thought-provoking, I found some narratives to be a bit slow at times. However, the book's thematic depth and evocative language make up for it, offering a compelling meditation on the perils of prejudice and the courage required to be true to oneself. Overall, The Hounding is a beautifully crafted parable that questions whether in any age, it might be safer to be a dog than an unusual girl—thought-provoking and darkly captivating.

This book had me gripped in the beginning. A village in 18th century England + five sisters who are rumored to turn into dogs + townsfolk who love to gossip.

I loved where this novel was going but I DNF around 60% because the writing lost me. The focus turned to the social aspects of the townsfolk whereas I was really wanting it to follow the sisters.

Thank you Netgalley and author Xenon Purvis for bringing us this title.

Set in 18th-century England, The Hounding follows a chilling mystery as a village becomes convinced that a group of orphaned sisters may be turning into dogs. From the very first page, the writing stands out—sharp, elegant, and immersive. The dialogue is particularly strong, revealing each character’s personality the moment they speak. This is descriptive language at its best: vivid enough to paint a scene clearly, yet never overdone.

While I would have appreciated a more definitive ending, the ambiguity didn’t take away from the impact of the story. Overall, this is a phenomenal debut—atmospheric, original, and expertly written.

This was a strange book. Not sure how I really feel about it. It would make an excellent book club read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for my copy of The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis in exchange for an honest review. It publishes August 5, 2025.
Wow, I haven’t read a book like this in a long time. It was so suspenseful and it felt as if there was a heartbeat pulsing in the background harder and faster as time went on.
I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, and the way each person was representative of so many things. I enjoyed the way the Thames represented the mood as well.
Overall this was excellent reading, I highly enjoyed it, and I could imagine my book club devouring this one!

4.75 stars.

From the second I read the description of The Hounding, I knew it would become a favorite. It is now a book that I will recommend to all the weird-girl loving folk that I know.

The Hounding is about five young sisters (a la The Virgin Suicides) accused of turning into dogs but we see the story strictly through the eyes of the people around them. I was just speaking to some friends the other day about how a book we read would have been so much better if it had been narrated from an outside perspective instead of from the protagonists themselves - this was the perfect example of that.

Delightful, vivid imagery and perfect keywords to describe each sister were the biggest selling point; Anne, the puzzling and peculiar eldest, Elizabeth, the pretty one, Hester, the angry tomboy middle child, Grace the timid "fairy-small" and fidgety one, and Mary, the youngest. Each with their own distinct personality that is portrayed very clearly from their neighbors, friendly and otherwise. Absolutely magnificent and bizarre storytelling that concludes with sheer satisfaction.

Xenobe Purvis' debut was easy to follow and yet each sentence was crucial and contained immense depth without being pretentious. I couldn't be happier with this read and greatly look forward to the day when I get to read it again, hopefully with a physical copy in my hand.

Thank you to NetGalley, Xenobe Purvis, and Henry Holt and Co. for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis is a tense, atmospheric debut that masterfully builds dread with every chapter. The remote setting adds an eerie backdrop to a story filled with psychological twists and unsettling revelations. Purvis crafts a slow-burning narrative that rewards patient readers with a deeply haunting payoff. It's a gripping read for fans of quiet horror and psychological suspense.

I was very kindly sent this galley by a publicist, and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! It's not that I didn't find the premise of this book to be interesting, but rather that I've read a lot of stories in this realm (in one way or another) very recently, so I was expected to be burnt out, but instead I found Purvis's writing to be so captivating and compelling that I binged most of it on my CTA rides in two days. I think what's most special about this book is that it's told around the girls, and that isn't a common thing we see in a lot of literature today. Obviously, The Virgin Suicides is a great example of this, but this is different to me because of how gracefully it perches on the themes of how women and girls have been preyed on in the past, how alcohol influences even the best of us, and how utterly helpless people become at the feet of gossip and rumor. I really, really enjoyed this and hope it does well in August!!

I book that I just couldn't put down. I love the vivid descriptions throughout the book. It truly meets the suggestion that it's The Crucible meets Virgin Suicides.

Man, this was GOOD. I particularly love all of the "unhinged-young-woman" books that have been buzzing around in the last ~5 years, and this was an excellent addition to the club. Can't wait to see what comes next from Xenobe Purvis.

"The Hounding" is everything I need in a book. There was alternating POV's focusing on religious zealotry, alcoholism, magical realism, lust, love, aging, toxic masculinity and the feminine divine. I was already sold on the description "The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides," and I see it: the five headstrong Mansfield sisters vs. everyone else who feels entitled to make decisions on women's bodies, fueled by fear and resentment. Most women would agree - it's safer to be a dog than a woman (or group of women) walking alone at night.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five sisters live with their grandfather in a secluded house. Rumors swirl about the girls and they are targeted by some of the villagers.

Thank you, Xenobe Purvis NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Wow, this book was really something I had to take my time to read and enjoy. I don't read a lot of books dealing in the past like this, but ever so often when I do, I really enjoyed them. You get to see what it's like back then and just feel how the women felt and the men! Oof, do you want to strangle them! There are so many things this book teaches you, and just the fact people believed things people said so easily is just unbelievable to me. The characters you'll either love or hate and the pacing is definitely one you'll have to get into. This book isn't something everyone will enjoy, but for those that do, it's well worth the read. For this reason, I thought this would be horror based, and it's not. Even so, I still enjoyed it.

Five sisters that aren't exactly ladylike are all the town seems to be able to talk about. Soon enough rumors are being spread about them.... strange ones. Are they really turning into dogs, or is it something else? Is it just a  man who has a problem with the family? What will become of the sisters once things get out of hand? Will they actually turn out to be dogs and forced to leave town, or will there be destruction?

This book shows what the spread of rumors can do to people. Also, what men were like in the past. Men were listened to more and more respected than women back then. Today.... that can be an issue sometimes depending on the man, but not getting into that. This book is a great read if you really take the time to immerse yourself into it.

This hypnotizing novel takes place in a small English town in probably the 18th century. The villagers of Little Nettlebed have always been suspicious of the Mansfield girls - they always seemed a little too odd, a little too forward. The five sisters live with their well-to-do grandfather - their family prospered during a rough time for the community, and so the village has always been begrudging of this. After their beloved grandmother dies, the girls all wear their mourning black and can be seen crossing the fields and the river. From the perspective of the ferryman - they are up to no good and perhaps even evil - as he transverses the river each day ferrying passengers, he can think of nothing else but the drought that has scorched the riverbed and these strange creatures that he finds monstrous in their behavior. One day he thinks he sees a girl turn into a dog. Ominous barking is heard throughout the fields and around the village. Wild animal carcasses are left torn apart nearby. Told from multiple perspectives from the ferryman and the tavern owner's wife - but never the Mansfield girls themselves - this mesmerizing novel builds with dread and suspense. Clearly something terrible will happen, but are the daughters actually changing into dogs or is it just another case of villagers allowing their superstitions to morph into unfettered violence? This unsettling book would be a good suggestion for readers of Ottessa Moshfegh.

This book really scratched an itch that has long been waiting to be acknowledged. It was a very fun, quick read that felt very reminiscent of "The Crucible". That being said, if you're familiar with the classics or any 17/18th-century and Restoration works, "The Hounding" feels like a derivative. It's easily accessible to readers, with characters who feel both nostalgic, doll-like, and charming in a whimsical and witchy way. If I hadn't felt like I'd read the story a few times before, this would have been a whirlwind of a novel and jumped to the top of my reads so far.

Because of its nostalgic writing and accessibility to older texts, I'll be recommending it as a "gateway" read for my favourite older texts. On its own, the story holds well in its mystique.

Thank you to NetGalley for facilitating this advanced copy.

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Publishing in August 2025, thank you @henryholt @netgalley for the #gifted ARCs)

THE HOUNDING opens with a flash forward to the future: a dead body, villagers carrying stones, and five sisters watching them come. Then we go back in time through the “season of strangeness” that preceded the novel’s opening. After losing their parents the sisters live with their elderly grandfather in a small village in eighteenth-century England. The villagers always give the sisters wary glances and are a little afraid of them, thinking “they need disciplining,” and viewing them as “wicked” girls barking in black dresses masking bushy tails and pretty mouths filled with yellow pointed teeth. They were “wild, inhuman–not girls at all.”

I confess that as I was reading this felt a little straightforward and predictable but it’s a book best considered in its entirety. This is one of those novels that tricks you into thinking it’s a simple story but as it progresses you see the layers of depth and symbolism embedded in the narrative. I never doubted the quality of the writing. Purvis succeeded in transporting me back to the 18th century; I felt like I was there with the characters, and the beautiful way things were described enamored me to this novel.

I was expecting the story to take a different turn, to see the female defiance play out in ways that are more akin to what it might look like when applying a lens that incorporates my own modern sensibilities. Upon reflection, I love the choices Purvis made. There is a subtlety to the exploration of themes that is more aligned with and true to the historical setting, more realistic, but still with a hint of magic and hope.

This novel led me to ponder a number of questions; what we wish for the people we love even when the world has other ideas about how they should behave and exist, how far we will go to protect the people we love, how the history of our families and places of origin stay with us even when we try to shed them, and ultimately, is it better to hide or be confined or to be free. This isn’t out for awhile but definitely one that should be on your radar.